Fort Bend Independent

VOL 3 No. 22

Phone: 281-980-6745 PRSRT STD

www.fbindependent.com .fbindependent.com ww

U.S. POSTAGE PAID STAFFORD, TX PERMIT NO.10

FORT BEND FAIR. BALANCED. INFORMATIVE. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 2, 2010

P. O.BOX 623, SUGAR LAND, TX 77487-0623

Grand Parkway toll road project moves ahead

By SESHADRI KUMAR Fort Bend County Commissioners last week paved the way for the construction of Grand Parkway Segment D from U.S. 59 to Westpark Toll Road as a toll road.

County commissioners authorized an investment grade study for the 12-mile segment, involving eight overpasses.

The project will eliminate 11 at-grade intersections.

Overpasses will be built at West Riverpark, New Territory, Sandhill/U.S. 90 A/ FM 1464, West Airport, Harlem, Mason/Morton Road, Bellaire and Westpark Tollway/ FM 1093.

All traffic would be able to use the existing roadway without paying toll and only the overpasses will be tolled via electronic toll system, Precinct 3 Commissioner Andy Meyers said.

The portion of segment D from Westpark to I-10, about five miles, is complete in its configuration and will remain a free road.

The estimated project cost

of phase 1 is $143.3 million.

A separate corporation will be set up to build and maintain the Grand Parkway Toll Road.

Bonds will be issued for the project and toll revenue will be used to repay the debt.

The excess toll revenue cannot be used for any other project and can be used only for Grand Parkway.

Under the current state law, as stipulated by SB 792, the county has acquired the right to build the toll road from Tx DOT and the construction contract should be signed by Sept. 7, 2011.

Additional work on the existing pavement, two direct connectors at Westpark and the future overpass at Peek Road will cost an additional $84 million.

The county has to complete an environmental study for Segment C from U.S. 59 to Brazoria County line, but that project may be many years away. In the meantime, any excess revenue may be used in other parts of the Grand Parkway project.

CUTEST BABIES. Sugar Land Town Square recently held its third annual Sugar Land’s Cutest Contest. The cutest kids were named in four categories including, Baby (0-12 months), above left, Winner – McKenna Marsters, right, First Runner Up – Brock Alexander Dorsey, middle, and Second Runner Up – Falyn E. McCurdy, left. Above right, Category “Toddler 1” (13-24 months) Winner – Caitlin Marie Lardizabal, right, First Runner Up – Aralynn Weesner, middle, Second Runner Up – Keanu Barranco, left; Below left, Category “Toddler 2” (25-36 months) Winner – Roark Alexander Meza, right, First Runner Up – Aidan Abbasi , middle, Second Runner Up – Alexander Leffew, left. Below right, Category “Preschooler” (37-47 months) Winner – Caleb Petry, right, First Runner Up – Allison Vu, middle, Second Runner Up – Michael Gibson III , left.

Sugar Land rebuts allegation on shutting down crime data for media An online news website report that Sugar Land is misleading the public and media about the city’s true crime picture is not accurate, says Steve Griffith, Sugar Land’s assistant city manager.

The city did not “shut down” media access to crime reports, as alleged, because of e-mail exchanges between council members, the com-

munication department and the police department, Griffith said.

“The reporter has taken pieces of information and wove a story, without ever interviewing a single staff member to explain the content or the context of the emails.

They have not shown us that courtesy,” he said.

To know the truth and accu-

Appearances can be deceptive; need to ask questions On Monday, I accessed the much-maligned crime map on the Sugar Land Police Department’s website. I searched for crimes within five miles of the city hall for the month of May. It covered the entire city and showed about 100 crimes including assault, burglary, theft, auto burglary, robbery and criminal mischief.

I checked the websites of Ultimate Fort Bend and Fort Bend Now for crime stories reported in May because these two news sources relied heavily on Sugar Land’s daily crime report.

Ultimate Fort Bend had one report, “Six masked men rob Sugar Land couple in RiverPark,” May 10, but Fort Bend Now did not report it, though the police crime map showed the incident.

Ultimate Fort Bend published four press releases issued by the city in that period and Fort Bend Now published two.

Ultimate Fort Bend also had another story, “Man accused of writing threatening letters.”

It was an arrest made on May 26. The reporter got a tip and followed up the story with city spokesman Doug Adolph.

Fort Bend Now did not

Inside Track By Seshadri Kumar carry this story. However, Fort Bend Now had a story of a school student claiming he was robbed in the Sugar Mill area, but the police department does not show that crime on the map. Another Fort Bend Now exclusive was about a Sugar Land man caught urinating in public by the West University Police.

Also, in March, there was a burglary at County Attorney Roy Cordes’ home in Sugar Creek and a local paper carried the report. The city did not issue a press release. A couple of days later, CrimeStoppers announced an award for solving this crime. Ultimate Fort Bend reported this story, but not Fort Bend Now. Well, if the city had “mapped” 100 crimes in May, why there were only a handful of reports?

See Page 3

rate information on crime reports on the city website, one should look at the presentation made by Police Chief David Brinkley before city council March 16, where this issue has been thoroughly explained.

Here is the web link— http:// www.sugarlandtx.gov/city_ hall/city_secretary/agendas/ Y2010/031610cc/031610cc. asp

tion as before but is limited to Part 1 crimes.

The city council is supposed to look at policies and broad issues. Other cities did not get the same volume of crime coverage as Sugar Land did and they wanted to know why.

The focus of the city is on informing the public directly, for which e-policing and

The SLPD has been working for the past year to provide information to the residents in a more efficient manner.

Though the manner of access to the crime reports changed, the information was never turned off, Griffith said.

Most people want to know what happens in their neighborhoods. The map format provides the same informa-

newsletters are used, in addition to the media, Griffith said.

Crime prevention officers in each beat keep the residents of their neighborhoods informed of any crime in that area, and those who sign up get this information via e-mail from the police officer assigned to that beat.

(More on Page 6)

Fort Bend Salutes America At the Fort Bend Salutes America countywide Memorial Day ceremony at Fulshear on Monday, participants unfurled and held a 100foot American flag as Debbie Fancher captured the spirit of patriotism through her powerful rendering of God Bless America.

After Mayde Creek High School NJROTC presented the Colors, Dist. 28 State Rep. John Zerwas and Fort Bend County Pct. 3 Commissioner Andy Meyers led the Pledge of Allegiance. Fulshear Mayor Tommy Kuykendall gave welcome remarks. County Judge Bob Hebert presented a proclamation, and Troy E. Nehls, Pct. 4 Constable and chairman of Fort Bend Salutes America, accepted it. Kevin John, Fort Bend ISD’s Baines Middle School student, delivered a speech titled “Message of Freedom.” Former Sugar Land Mayor David Wallace led the wreath ceremony as Boy Scouts of Fort Bend placed wreaths in memory of the fallen soldiers. Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office Honor Guard gave a 21-gun salute. —Photo by SESHADRI KUMAR

10701 Corporate Drive, #282, Stafford, TX 77477 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 623, Sugar Land, TX 77487 Seshadri Kumar www.fbindependent.com Publisher & Editor 281-980-6745 Fort Bend Independent is published every Wednesday (for a subscription rate of $20 per year) by Fort Bend Independent, LLC., 10701 Corporate Dr., #282, Stafford, Texas 77477. Periodical postage application pending. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Fort Bend Independent, P.O. Box 623, Sugar Land, Tx 77487.

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71 3 . 2 2 2 . C A R E

Page 2 • INDEPENDENT • JUNE 2, 2010

WALL THAT HEALS. The city of Sugar Land paid tribute to the service members at a ceremony held at the Sugar Land Memorial Park, on May 31, Memorial Day. The Wall that Heals, a replica of Maya Lin’s Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C., a traveling exhibit, was a highlight of the event. Below, visitors look at the wall.

Photos by RANDY KOZLOVSKY.

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JUNE 2, 2010 • INDEPENDENT • Page 3

Community news

Suzette Peoples Broker /Owner

Crime: Apple to orange comparison doesn’t jibe

2009 Official Part 1 Crime Data-FBI-UCR

Murder Rape Robbery Aggravated Assault Burglary Larceny Auto Theft

Missouri City Sugar Land 1 0 15 6 46 61 61 46 366 270 872 1506 57 78

Population Crimes Reported

77543 1418

Crime Rate

18.28

Inside From Page 1 I am not suggesting that the media is lazy. Ultimate Fort Bend does call Adolph to follow up on crime reports. Possibly, the media is not interested in “trivial� crimes any more.

I also suspect that the city’s communication department ticked off at least one reporter.

Unrelated to Councilman Russell Jones’ controversial email, Adolph had, a few days earlier, conveyed his displeasure to the two online reporters on their excessive exposure to Sugar Land and Missouri City crimes, while not reporting on other cities.

An Ultimate Fort Bend reporter replied: “We’re actually working on getting more crimes/police news from some of the smaller entities...� “Sounds good. Just don’t want our citizens to get the wrong perception,� replied Adolph.

A Fort Bend Now reporter said: “The Sugar Land and Missouri City reports are generated by me- the rest are generally either high profile or press releases from the departments. Sugar Land and Missouri City are the main focuses because of the size, and

82696 1967 23.78

Conroe 1 26 99 127 610 1850 148 57685 2861 49.59

Report format) to the other cities in Channel 11’s report shows that Missouri City has the lowest crime rate per capita among cities in Fort Bend County with population of 50,000 to 100,000 and the second lowest crime rate per capita of all the cities in their report. “Our data and methodology are supported and readily available for review. We presented this data to Channel 11 reporters but received no indication that they would reassess their presentation,� the chief said.

Mayor Owen explained the difference in reporting crime stats using IBR and UCR standards this way: “If you are caught shoplifting at the mall in Sugar Land, you are given a simple citation. In Missouri City you are arrested and taken to jail. Both are the same charges but citations are not reported as offenses.

There are many such instances that need to be uncovered.

This burns me up that Channel 11 never even wanted to respond to our concerns that not all cities play by the same rules.�

Fitzgerald said, “We contacted Channel 11 and tried repeatedly to obtain the

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SUGAR LAND! Almost 2400sqft. 4 bedrooms 2.5 bath. Study and sitting/gameroom up. Owner spent over $62K on upgrades/improvements.

Gourmet kitchen, tile/pergo thru-out no carpet.

Priced in $200’s.

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SUGAR LAND! Over 3300sqft! 4 bedrooms 3.5 baths master and study down.

Gameroom up. Gourmet island kitchen with granite and stainless steel appliances. Tile & wood. Priced to go $280’s.

Trendmaker home built in 2007. Over 4000sqft! 4 bedrooms 3.5 baths. master & study down & gameroom up. 3+ car & portechere! Upgrades galore! Close to Elem. & parks Priced to go fast $400’s

(Source; www.txdps.state.tx.us/director_staff/public_information/2009CIT.pdf)

Baytown Pasadena 2 8 34 56 114 184 180 458 831 1213 2889 3955 281 442 70764 4331 61.2

‘methodology’ used by the research company to no avail.

Our concerns were the potential problems that arise if a comparison is made using our IBR stats versus non-IBR reporting cities’ UCR stats. Of the 10 cities examined, only four use IBR. The majority report crime in the UCR format, thus a non-uniform comparison would invalidate any study.�

The 2009 Official Part 1 Crime Data-FBI-UCR of the 10 towns in the study show Missouri City’s crime rate second to the lowest.

The towns compared are Missouri City, Sugar Land, Conroe, Baytown, Pasadena, Humble, Pearland, Friendswood, Katy and Houston.

According to the 2009 URC data, crime rates in the 10 towns compared from most to least start with Humble and are followed by Houston, Baytown, Conroe, Katy, Pasadena, Pearland, Sugar Land, Missouri City and Friendswood, which has the lowest rate.

Criminal statistics for murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny and auto theft are reported to the FBI annually by all police departments in the U.S.

PE SA ND LE IN G

standards.

Cities that use the UCR method count those offenses as one incident.

The IBR method provides an accurate composite of crime that occurs within a jurisdiction.

Currently Missouri City, as well as Pearland, Katy, Deer Park, Tomball and Galveston use IBR standards for reporting crime.

The Channel 11 news story said it got crime data from 2006 to 2009 from 10 of the Houston area’s biggest suburbs and “hired the National Institute for Computer-Assisted reporting to analyze it.�

The results ranked the 10 cities ‘high,’ ‘low’ and in the ‘middle’ for total crime, and Missouri City came out on top as having more violent crime than Houston and having the highest number of total crimes.

Neither is true, according to Missouri City Police Chief Joel Fitzgerald, and the statistics bear him out. “The labeling of Missouri City as a ‘high crime city’ was grossly inaccurate,� Fitzgerald said to no avail. “A fair comparison of Missouri City crime data (using a standard Uniform Crime

RE DU CE D

By BARBARA FULENWIDER The airing (and/or erring) of a story on crime in the suburbs broadcast by Channel 11 two weeks ago has drawn protests from Missouri City Mayor Allen Owen, other elected officials of that town and citizens.

Numbers don’t lie, but they can be and calculated differently. The result was Missouri City got smacked down when the TV news station reported it has a high crime rate. The TV station could have erred on that because the crime statistics it compared were reported differently. Because of that , the crime analyst Channel 11 used to compare the numbers ended up comparing apples to oranges rather than apples to apples.

Last January, the Missouri City Police Department, in its annual crime report to city council, noted that they switched to the Incident Based Reporting (IBR) of crimes rather than Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR). By using IBR, police officials record all crimes related to an incident.

For instance, if the mailboxes in an entire neighborhood block are vandalized, Missouri City reports each as a separate crime under IBR

21 years of experience!

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the fact that as I am the only one who covers this site, I would be doing police reports all day if I did them all.�

After the crime report was switched to the map format, the Ultimate Fort Bend reporter asked Adolph a series of questions about the change and Adolph answered them.

The same information was given to Fort Bend Now as well.

While the Ultimate Fort Bend reporter continued to work with the available tool, the Fort Bend Now reporter felt the map was cumbersome and tedious and sought a daily call list from the police department. Adolph said the reporter should submit daily requests to the police department.

In a December 2009 e-mail pertaining to a story by the same reporter, Adolph and another city official had exchanged notes saying that “I was not too impressed with the story.�

Would this remark not make the reporter hostile to Adolph?

In journalism, successful reporters maintain a healthy relationship with sources and such sources, even when a negative story breaks, are not upset if the report is fair and accurate.

Humble 1 17 92 61 212 1684 142 14934 2209 147.91

Pearland Friendswood 1 0 20 5 40 7 70 15 387 111 1513 316 107 20 88528 2138 24.15

34558 474 13.71

If only the “investigative reporter� had set aside her personal feelings and quoted the response of the city officials, it would have blunted any criticism of unfair reporting and one-sided story telling.

I was initially reluctant to do a report criticizing another reporter’s work, or defending the city of Sugar Land, but decided to do so because the importance of the topic and professional issues involved.

The reporter probably had justification in concluding that the city was shutting down access to her and that she had to go through the hoops instead of the cut and paste approach.

Also, experience in journalism would show that appearances can be deceptive sometimes. Even e-mails, when repeated verbatim, can be misconstrued if not read in the right context.

I also reviewed the e-mails Fort Bend Now obtained.

I paid $7.60 for the copies.

They are only a handful of the more than 3,000 e-mails that the city was ready to give to Fort Bend Now. It would have cost $850, and that reporter selected only a few.

Now, I owe an explanation on the lack of crime reports in this newspaper. Initially,

Katy 1 0 21 27 56 566 27

Houston 287 823 11367 13116 29279 77058 14596

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2273771 146526 64.44

I used to publish the entire crime blotter in one full page.

Because of space constraints, I have decided to publish crime reports only occasionally.

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Bargain Book Sale Friends of First Colony ranch Library, 2121 Austin Parkway at Grants Lake, Sugar Land, will hold their monthly bargain book sale on Saturday, June 5, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Good condition books, CD’s, DVD’s (no magazines/encyclopedias) may be donated during regular library hours or at the sale and are tax deductible. Children’s items are especially needed.

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Page 4 • INDEPENDENT • JUNE 2, 2010

Opinion The View From Sugar Land What is independent baseball?

By RUSSELL C. JONES Two weeks ago the Sugar Land City Council announced that it had signed a letter of intent with Opening Day Partners to bring a new team to town to play professional baseball.

Since then, the most frequently asked question has been, “just exactly what is independent baseball?”

Most of the attention in professional ball goes to Major League Baseball.

The National League, which includes team such as the Houston Astros and the Cincinnati Reds, and the American League, which includes the Texas Rangers and the New York Yankees, are MLB leagues.

Each of the major league teams is located in a major media market and has a system of “farm teams” which is affiliated with it and plays in an affiliated league. Each of the minor leagues is designated as single-A, double-A or triple-A, depending upon the level of play to be found in that league.

The new Sugar Land team will play in the Atlantic League, which is unaffiliated with MLB. Among such leagues, the Atlantic appears to provide the highest level of play. Other independent leagues include the Northern League, the American Association and the Can-Am League. Players in the Atlantic League tend to be just on the cusp of playing in the majors.

A week before the season began, many of the teams in the Atlantic League had perhaps half of their rosters filled. The other half was likely to be completed with players finishing up spring training with MLB teams, but who did not quite make the big show.

It is often advantageous

Jones for a player to sign with an independent league, rather than accepting a triple-A contract. If the player is a shortstop on a triple-A team that already has two young top-quality shortstops playing for the affiliated MLB team, he may see his career stifled with little chance of getting promoted to the majors soon. On the other hand, if he moves to an independent league, he can be scouted by every team in major league baseball, one of which may need a shortstop immediately.

The Atlantic League serves as a regular training ground for the majors.

One of the teams owned by Opening Day Partners, the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs, has already yielded three players to the major leagues this season. Earlier the team lost Steve Palazzolo to the Seattle Mariners and Justin Christian to the New York Yankees.

Just last week, the Oakland Athletics signed John Halama from the Crabs.

The trade-off is high quality play versus losing your best player to the majors. But then, that appears to be one of the chief goals of the league. Atlantic League executive director Joe Klein views his job as a combination of recruiting

for the league and placing his players in better paying positions at the major league level. The same attitude was displayed during meetings of Sugar Land City Council members with representatives of ODP in Pennsylvania last March. Andy Etchebarren and Tom Herr, both former major league players and now field managers for Atlantic League teams, saw their jobs in terms of player development as much as winning games.

The announcement of the baseball deal has brought a new level of excitement to Sugar Land. Questions regarding the naming of the team and the availability of everything from season tickets to team logo souvenirs to jobs have peppered members of the city council.

Already announced is the prize for submitting the winning entry in the team naming contest.

Lifetime season tickets will be awarded to the fan who proposes the chosen mascot. Suggestions already heard include the Convicts, the Equals, the Imperials, the Sweets, the ‘Gators, the Colonies and the Canes. One can only hope that some of these suggestions were made tongue-incheek. The worst suggestion heard so far was the Dinosaurs, made by a fan of the Houston Museum of Natural Science – Sugar Land.

Look for a sales office to open in the Sugar Land Town Square some time in the next few months.

(Jones is the Mayor Pro Tem of the City of Sugar Land and serves as Councilman for District 3. He was first elected to the City Council in 2003. He owns a law firm and a title insurance company in Sugar Land.)

Re-balancing your investments

By BILL & JARED JAMESON One of the most important investment decisions you make is the amount to put into each type of investment. For example, maybe you allocate the majority of your assets to stock mutual funds, some to individual bonds and the rest into CDs or cash. Studies show that the bulk of investor returns come from this initial decision, not timing the market or choosing great investments.

However, it would be a mistake to assume that once you’ve established your initial positions and invested your money, you’re done.

As we know from 2008 and 2009, markets move rapidly and sometimes significantly in one direction or another.

Over time, these movements can change the overall mix of assets, which in turn can affect your returns.

For example, let’s assume a hypothetical portfolio of 50 percent stock and 50 percent fixed income (bonds and cash). If the market declines by 50 percent and the fixed income portion holds its value, then you have threefourths what you started with.

But the overall mix of the portfolio has changed as well.

You now have one-third in stock and two-thirds in fixed

Bill and Jared Jameson income. The consequence is that if you don’t rebalance (i.e., bring the portfolio back in line with your original target allocation), you will not fully participate in the market when it rebounds.

Rebalancing also reinforces the investment concept of buying low and selling high.

When one asset class does better than the others, it becomes a larger portion of the

Seshadri Kumar Publisher & Editor

www.fbindependent.com Email: Editor@fbindependent.com

portfolio and thus has more influence on your future performance than you originally intended. By selling the recent top performers and buying investments that haven’t done as well, you protect yourself when that trend reverses.

A good rule of thumb is to check the overall allocation of your portfolio every three months. If you do it more often, you might be prone to overreacting to daily market movements.

WJ Interests is a fee-only financial planning and investment management firm in Sugar Land. For more information, please contact us at wj@wjinterests.com or 281634-9400.

Higher Education: Rumors

By DICK PHILLIPS I remember one of the best high school instructors that I ever worked with privately telling a student on the front row a fairly short statement that included factual details and having that student repeat the information privately to the student behind them. That was repeated 22 times in this case.

By the time the last student reported what he had been told, there was little resemblance to the first iteration. My point is that even factual information can be misunderstood, and we have had a case of that regarding the University of Houston System at Cinco Ranch (UHSCR) campus.

The Cinco Ranch Rumor Apparently, there has been a rumor going around that the UH System at Cinco Ranch campus may be closing. First, let me say that it is not! In fact, a task force appointed by Senator Hegar and Representative Callegari is in place planning for the expansion of the higher education offerings in the Katy area. Why the rumor?

First, a little background. The University of Houston System at Cinco Ranch is a teaching center, where more than one member of the UH System (UH, UH-Downtown, UHVictoria and UH-Clear Lake) can offer courses and programs. Recently, as a part of strategic planning and focus, UH-Downtown has decided to discontinue offering courses at the UHSCR site in favor of expansion and participation at other sites. The announced change has likely been misinterpreted by some as meaning the closing of the campus.

The Truth The fact is that UH-Victoria and UH will be taking over the programs previously offered by UH-Downtown.

There is simply a shift in the provider. In contrast to any

Phillips plans for closure, the UHV School of Nursing has recently expanded its offerings to the Cinco Ranch campus. Finally, we are planning for new programs, as noted below.

The Plan Simply put, our (the task force) charge from the state senator and representative is to identify the higher education academic program needs of the Katy area and recommend process and procedure to address these needs. Meeting programmatic needs will then drive the question of facilities needed for support. The days of “build it and they will come” are, unfortunately, long gone, and the recent economic climate further highlights the need for collaboration between community colleges, universities and communities to meet those needs in a costeffective manner.

The Task Force Katy Chamber: President/ CEO Ann Hodge Katy EDC: Chairman Woody Mann Katy ISD: Superintendent Alton Fraily West Houston Association: Chairman David Hightower UH System: Associate Vice Chancellor for UHSCR

Dick Phillips and Associate Vice President for Instructional Support and Outreach Marshal Schott Next Steps The task force is timely. It coincides with the UH System’s strategic planning.

Each campus, including UHSCR and the University of Houston System at Sugar Land (UHSSL) is working on a master plan. The current status of the campus will be reported, and a plan for the future will be developed.

With the UH move toward tier one status, UHSCR and UHSSL can play pivotal roles in student success and access, while establishing identity for certain programs.

Want To Be Involved?

Though we will be identifying focus groups, including energy and health care for starters, your direct input is more than welcome. Just let me know your questions, thoughts or ideas, and I’ll be happy to present them to the task force for consideration.

Of course, if you prefer, your input can be directed to any member.

Why don’t you join us for our UHSCR Open House from 4 to 7 p.m., June 30th on the UHSCR campus?

Heard More Rumors?

Email me at www.dickphillips@uh.edu with questions, comments, items you would like discussed or rumors and I’ll be glad to address them.

UHSCR and UHSSL are your area providers of higher education. Get involved, make a difference and help shape the future of higher education in your neighborhood.

Dick Phillips, associate vice-chancellor of the University of Houston System, is in charge of the Sugar Land and Katy - Cinco Ranch campuses.

Musings: Relief

By JANICE SCANLAN The settlement for Quail Valley Park with Renaissance Golf Group was indeed a welcomed relief on a number of fronts. First, the legal wrangling is over and not subject to appeal. That should help further stabilize the nonforeclosure housing market.

Mayor Owen, the City and their attorneys are to be congratulated.

It was a relief that the settlement was reasonable. You can’t have something on the tax rolls for $6.59 million and expect a settlement price of $3.1 million. A jury trial could have resulted in a higher price as well as the threat of appeal and continuing legal fees for years. The City was wise to settle.

I certainly feel a debt of gratitude to the citizens of Missouri City for voting to save this open space that is populated with mature trees and wildlife. Digging into their pockets to make a better city shows foresight and a positive attitude toward Missouri City’s prospects.

The economy since 2008 is a mixed bag at best, with the latest bad news for the Houston area from the BP oil spill.

So with the genuine relief many feel, there are also several realities that need to be discussed so that people believe Missouri City is adequately addressing important issues. While discussion was constrained by the court case, with an appeal not being part of the picture, we now have an opportunity to rectify what has been a difficult and sensitive situation for every responsible person who wants to see Missouri City thrive

Scanlan and prosper.

How are we going to pay for this? We passed a $17.5 million bond issue 2008.

However, we deferred $9.5 million from the 1994 Parks bond issue to get the land in 2007, and used it to redevelop the golf course and make the club house usable.

City Manager Frank Simpson assured us repeatedly before we passed the 2008 bond issue that the $9.5 million that was deferred from other Parks & Recreation projects approved with bonds in 1994 would be returned to its original 1994 designated plans. If this money is being planned to be used all or in part on something other than the 1994 prioritized projects, citizen input and buy-in seems common sense to keep this from becoming a festering issue that could diminish city-wide support for Quail Valley Park.

We have spent $13.775 million on the land, golf course and existing clubhouse to date. While we have a million dollar grant for the tennis/ recreation center, it has to be matched dollar for dollar. Can

we build any kind of decent community center for $2.725 Million with the designated funds for Quail Valley Park?

What have we done, besides mow the grass, on the Executive 9 and Par 3 designated park land? Does our lack of factoring in those park projects contribute to home values? Moreover, where are the parks and trails in Quail Valley Park that impact many more people than golf and tennis and are way less expensive and within our current means to build?

Taxpayers need to understand where we are going city wide. The Valley View News recognized that people are using different measuring sticks for the Quail Valley Park with the response they got— and that’s primarily within Quail Valley. The Mayor and Council seem to have a mindset for golf and tennis while many residents are wondering where the park is in Quail Valley Park?

I’m not against either the community or rec centers per se. It’s where they fit in priority and how we plan to pay for them. To sustain and nurture the city-wide support from 2008 for Quail Valley Park we need to ensure we’ve prioritized projects we can afford that use unencumbered funds. If we are shifting Park and Recreation priorities from the 1994 bond issue, we need to be clear how we are doing so.

But most of all, we need to keep the park parts of Quail Valley Park on the Council’s radar screens because they seem to keep falling off.

Write janicescanlan@ earthlink.net.

JUNE 2, 2010 • INDEPENDENT • Page 5

FILM REVIEW: SHREK FOR EVER AFTER I’m sitting on my patio and it’s hot, but not too hot. I am in the shade with a fan blowing on me and it is Memorial Day weekend. We in the Texas Gulf Coast know “hot” and this is not July Fourth or Labor Day hot. I’m living the dream.

Yesterday, Eric H. and I went to Borders and I bought the latest John Grisham novel, “Theodore Boone; Kid Lawyer.”

The story is about a 13-year -old boy who hangs around the Strattenburg courthouse, knows all the judges, cops, clerks, and local lawyers and gets involved in the biggest murder trial ever conducted in Strattenburg by discovering evidence that could affect the outcome of the trial.

Grisham is a master storyteller and I’ve read all of his books. I usually do not like books and TV shows about lawyers, but Grisham’s stories about the law and the legal system are at least grounded in reality. His writing style is simple, which is good for me; I don’t need a dictionary.

Grisham’s novels are very

much about character development and a good yarn. Like a good movie.

What about “Shrek” movie breath, you ask. I’ll get to Shrek, but I’m thinking about becoming a literary critic and thought I’d give it a go today, he said with a big grin.

“Shrek Forever After” is an appropriate sequel for the hugely successful Dreamworks series, and I’m sure there will be others. I saw this movie with 200 of my closest friends on a Saturday

afternoon. And the kids were the dominant ticket holders.

And we were all wearing 3D glasses.

If you are under age 6 or have friends or family members of that age, then by all means go see this ogre movie.

Shrek is charming, loveable, and easily confused and Fiona is the tough, stable wife/ princess. The writers take a little liberty with the facts a la “Lost” with an almost flash sideways, but the “kiss of true love” is still the treasured

theme.

The star voices of Mike “Shrek” Myers, Eddie “Donkey” Murphy, Cameron “Fiona” Diaz and Antonio “Puss in Boots” Banderas return in their magnificent roles. To get them to keep coming back to the Shrek series, I figure Dreamworks offered them a ton of money and Spielberg must have twisted a few arms.

Sometimes I give a movie a “NR” which means Not Rated

by Larry H. This movie is one of those where I need to get out of the way and merely encourage the Shrek fans to see one of the great kid movie franchises of all time.

On the street, I am often asked about my opinion about movies, which I am only too eager to share and to direct them to my movie web page at LarryHmoviereviews.com.

Please continue to go to my movie web page and make it appear that I have a lot of internet traffic.

Rock ‘n Roll Grade NR. Larry H. sugarlaw@larryharrison.com

AUTOMOBILE: GMC ACADIA

By BARBARA FULENWIDER The GMC Acadia is an eight-passenger crossover SUV with a smooth ride and responsive handling. I like its style, size, cabin space and the amount of standard equipment it comes with.

The Acadia comes in two trims – the SLE and SLT. The top of the line SLT2 retails for $40,185. It is powered by a 3.6-liter V-6 engine that makes 288 horsepower and 270 lb.-ft. torque. The test drive model came with front -wheel drive. All-wheel drive equipment packages are available to owners who want that option.

The Acadia motor runs on unleaded gasoline and gets an estimated 17 miles to the gallon in city driving and 24 on the highway for a combined average of 19 mpg.

All models include the V-6 direct injected engine, On-Star with turn-by-turn and destination download, Bluetooth connectivity for hands-free phone calls and XM Satellite Radio with the new NavTraffic feature. The SLT-2 model adds a review camera system and heated and cooled seats.

The Acadia rides on 18inch tires as standard equipment. Cast aluminum 19-inch wheels and 20-inch chrome

clad wheels are offered as options.

The Acadia’s safety system includes six standard air bags, a standard StabiliTrak electronic stability control system with rollover mitigation technology and an anti-lock brake system. The suspension up front is coil-over strut with a direct acting stabilizer bar and in the rear the independent suspension is a linked H-arm – coil springs with twin-tube shock absorbers mounted on an isolated sub-frame.

For 2010 the GMC Acadia got 20-inch chrome clad wheels, USB connectivity in the center console to enable stored audio files to play through the audio system and battery charging for some hand held devices, a Yukon Denali -style roof rack, and cashmere interior as options.

Standard equipment on the Acadia includes dual exhausts with chrome tips, a tire pressure monitoring system, remote keyless entry, theft deterrent system, front fog lamps, longitudinal roof rails, power liftgate, power and heated outside mirrors that fold and include turn signals, trailering package, rear spoiler, power windows, door locks and steering.

Other features include heat-

LETTERS To the Editor: With reference to Russell Jones’ column “What is Plan B?” (May 26), I too was at Congressman Pete Olson’s May 17 meeting, and what struck me most was he didn’t focus on what every business owner would do at this time - across the board cuts.

He immediately exempted the military from cuts; although I support our military, I do not support our government’s military agenda, which could be simplified and cut down in size - if we can’t afford it, why are we policing the world?

My plan B would call for: • an immediate 10 percent cut in spending government wide.

• a 10-year freezes on social security and Medicare .

• elimination of the federal departments of education, housing & urban development, and energy.

• limitation of our military’s agenda to be very US-centric - protect our borders, eliminate European bases, limit Afghanistan involvement and exit Iraq.

• selling government stakes in all industries.

Could we realistically get this through? No. Do we need to? Yes. Thank you Mr. Jones for pointing out the futility that Mr. Olson is facing in hoping to override the current administration’s onslaught of big government.

Robert C. Rhodes Stafford,

ed front seats, leather seats, second row captain’s chairs and third row split bench seat, power adjustable driver and passenger seats, tri-zone climate control, rear seat with audio controls, rear cargo storage, leather wrapped steering wheel with audio and cruise controls, auto dimming inside rearview mirror, ultrasonic park assist, a tilt and telescopic steering wheel, Bose audio system, rearview camera system and remote vehicle start.

Optional equipment on the red jewel-painted Acadia included a technology package with high intensity discharge headlamps, touch screen navigation system with rearview camera display, power sunroof with second row skylight, leather seats and heated and cooled driver and front

passenger seats. Options increased the price by $6,780 to $46,965 total.

As for safety, the GMC Acadia got the government’s highest front and side impact crash test rating.

In 2008 the Acadia got MotorWeek’s Drivers’ Choice Award for best crossover utility vehicle.

In 2009 Ward included it in its 10 best engine list, and this year the Acadia was named a Consumer Guide best buy and Consumer Digest best buy.

The Acadia Crossover SUV was a smooth ride, delivered a powerful response when needed, was most comfortable and good looking. Put all of that together and it makes the Acadia hard to beat.

To the Editor: A viable plan B (Russell Jones, May 26) will never materialize as long as elected Republicans spend all their time, energy and resources doing every thing they can to subvert the democratic process of governing in America.

Republicans are only interested in President Barck Obama failing, regardless of the impact on the American people.

President Obama inherited a huge budget deficit, an economy in shambles, two wars, seizing commercial credit markets and a failing domestic auto manufacturing sector. Your assertion that the damage will have been complete by the 2013 election is an insult to American citizens’ intelligence because we remember the economy that George W. Bush inherited from Bill Clinton.

When are Republicans going to take the credit for their eight years of irresponsible spending, trillion dollar wars against countries that never attacked us and the politicization of everything from firing federal judges

for their political views to ignoring minority hurricane victims in New Orleans? You can use this space to be a role model for all of your Republican readers by actually submitting ideas that solve problems without placing the US Government back under the control of big oil, big pharma, and big finance. I also have seen far more video of President Obama reaching across the aisle than any republican doing the same.

I am looking forward to reading about some real ideas next week.

I am also confident they won’t be there.

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Legal Notices NOTICE TO CREDITORS Notice is hereby given that original Letters Testamentary for the Estate of Theodore H. Niewenhous, Deceased, were issued on May4, 2010, in Cause No. 395,762, pending in the Probate Court No.1, Harris County, Texas, to: Philip Kent Moody.

All persons having claims against this Estate which is currently being administered are required to present them to the undersigned within the time and in the manner prescribed by law. c/o: Dean A. Hrbacek Attorney at Law 130 Industrial Blvd., Suite 110 Sugar Land, Texas 77478 DATED the 28th day of May, 2010.

Dean A. Hrbacek Attorney for Philip Kent Moody, Ind. Executor State Bar No.: 10128800 130 Industrial Blvd., Suite 110 Sugar Land, Texas 77478 Telephone: (281) 240-2424 Facsimile: (281) 240-7829 LEGAL NOTICE REQUEST FOR SEALED COMPETITIVE PROPOSALS Sealed Competitive Proposals will be received in the Office of Gilbert D. Jalomo, Jr., County Purchasing Agent, Fort Bend County, Rosenberg Annex, 4520 Reading Road, Suite A, Rosenberg, TX 77471 for the following until THURSDAY, JULY 1, 2010 at 1:30 P.M. (CST). All proposals will then be opened in the Office of the Purchasing Agent, Rosenberg Annex, 4520 Reading Road, Suite A, Rosenberg, TX 77471 and the names of the proposers made public. Proposals received after the specified time will be returned unopened.

R10-102 – GENERAL CONTRACTOR SERVICES – FORT BEND COUNTY UNIVERSITY BRANCH LIBRARY A pre-RFP conference will be conducted on Thursday, June 17, 2010 at 10:00AM (CST). The pre-RFP conference will be held at the Fort Bend County Purchasing Department located in the Rosenberg Annex at 4520 Reading Road, Rosenberg Texas 77471. All vendors are encouraged to attend.

Lump sum pricing is required; payment will be by check after products/services are rendered. Bonds are required.

Fort Bend County reserves the right to reject any or all proposals.

Signed: Gilbert D. Jalomo, Jr., Purchasing Agent Fort Bend County, Richmond, Texas

PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE The Commissioners Court of Fort Bend County, Texas has set a public hearing on Tuesday, June 22, 2010 at 1:00 p.m. for acceptance of the traffic control plan for Islieb Road and Daily Road, Pct. 1.

The hearing will be held in the Commissioners Courtroom, 309 South Fourth St., Suite 700, William B. Travis Bldg., Richmond, Texas. You are invited to attend and state your approval or objection on this matter.

Submitted by, Dianne Wilson Fort Bend County Clerk LEGAL NOTICE REQUEST FOR SEALED COMPETITIVE PROPOSALS Sealed Competitive Proposals will be received in the Office of Gilbert D. Jalomo, Jr., County Purchasing Agent, Fort Bend County, Rosenberg Annex, 4520 Reading Road, Suite A, Rosenberg, TX 77471 for the following until THURSDAY, JUNE 10, 2010 at 1:30 P.M. (CST). All proposals will then be opened in the Office of the Purchasing Agent, Rosenberg Annex, 4520 Reading Road, Suite A, Rosenberg, TX 77471 and the names of the proposers made public. Proposals received after the specified time will be returned unopened.

RFP 10-101 – SECURITY SYSTEM FOR JANE LONG ANNEX Unit pricing is required; payment will be by check after products/services are rendered. Bonds are required. Fort Bend County reserves the right to reject any or all proposals.

Signed: Gilbert D. Jalomo, Jr., Purchasing Agent Fort Bend County, Richmond, Texas

LEGAL NOTICE REQUEST FOR SEALED COMPETITIVE PROPOSALS Sealed Competitive Proposals will be received in the Office of Gilbert D. Jalomo, Jr., County Purchasing Agent, Fort Bend County, Rosenberg Annex, 4520 Reading Road, Suite A, Rosenberg, TX 77471 for the following until THURSDAY, JUNE 10, 2010 at 1:30 P.M. (CST). All proposals will then be opened in the Office of the Purchasing Agent, Rosenberg Annex, 4520 Reading Road, Suite A, Rosenberg, TX 77471 and the names of the proposers made public. Proposals received after the specified time will be returned unopened.

RFP 10-099 – DRUG COURT SUBSTANCE ABUSE OUTPATIENT COUNSELING Unit pricing is required; payment will be by check after products/services are rendered. Bonds are not required. Fort Bend County reserves the right to reject any or all proposals.

Signed: Gilbert D. Jalomo, Jr., Purchasing Agent Fort Bend County, Richmond, Texas

PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE The Commissioners Court of Fort Bend County, Texas has set a public hearing on Tuesday, June 22, 2010 at 1:00 p.m. for acceptance of the traffic control plan for Grand Mission Section 11 and Section 13, Pct. 3.

The hearing will be held in the Commissioners Courtroom, 309 South Fourth St., Suite 700, William B. Travis Bldg., Richmond, Texas. You are invited to attend and state your approval or objection on this matter.

Submitted by, Dianne Wilson Fort Bend County Clerk NOTICE FORT BEND COUNTY COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT FY 2008 CONSOLIDATED ACTION PLAN AMENDEMENT Neighborhood Stabilization Program In July of 2008, Congress enacted the Housing and Economic Recovery Act (HERA).

Title III of this act created the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP). Fort Bend County expects to receive $2,796,177 in Neighborhood Stabilization Program funds during FY 2008. This funding is intended to stabilize neighborhoods. To do this, Fort Bend County can: • • • • •

Buy abandoned or foreclosed homes; Redevelop demolished or vacant properties; Demolish or rehabilitate abandoned, foreclosed or blighted properties; Offer down payment and closing cost assistance to low- to moderate-income homebuyers Reuse properties for affordable rental housing

The Fort Bend County Request For Proposals (RFP) will be available on Tuesday, June 1m 2010. An information session for applicants will be held on Wednesday, June 9, 2010, 10:00 a.m. at the Fort Bend County Rosenberg Annex, Rosenberg, Texas 77471. Questions for applicants will be answered at this meeting.

Proposals must be submitted by 3:00 p.m.

Friday, June 11, 2010. For more information, please call Carol Borrego at (281) 341-4410.

LEGAL NOTICE INVITATION TO BIDDERS Sealed Bids will be received in the Office of Gilbert D. Jalomo, Jr., County Purchasing Agent, Fort Bend County, Rosenberg Annex, 4520 Reading Road, Suite A, Rosenberg, TX 77471 for the following until THURSDAY, JUNE 17, 2010 at 1:30 P.M. (CST). All bids will then be publicly opened and read in the Office of the Purchasing Agent, Rosenberg Annex, 4520 Reading Road, Rosenberg, TX 77471. Bids received after the specified time will be returned unopened.

BID 10-097 – BRIDGE REPLACE FOR OLD RICHMOND ROAD OVER RED GULLY A pre-bid conference will be conducted on Thursday, June 3, 2010 at 10:00AM (CST). The pre-bid conference will be held at the Fort Bend County Purchasing Department located in the Rosenberg Annex at 4520 Reading Road, Rosenberg Texas 77471. All bidders are encouraged to attend.

BID 10-098 – EXTENSION OF SOUTH POST OAK BLVD AND RECONSTRUCTION OF MCKEEVER ROAD A pre-bid conference will be conducted on Thursday, June 3, 2010 at 11:00AM (CST). The pre-bid conference will be held at the Fort Bend County Purchasing Department located in the Rosenberg Annex at 4520 Reading Road, Rosenberg Texas 77471. All bidders are encouraged to attend.

Unit pricing is required; payment will be by check after products/services are rendered. Bonds are required.

Fort Bend County reserves the right to reject any or all bids.

Signed: Gilbert D. Jalomo, Jr., Purchasing Agent Fort Bend County, Richmond, Texas

LEGAL NOTICE INVITATION TO BIDDERS Sealed Bids will be received in the Office of Gilbert D. Jalomo, Jr., County Purchasing Agent, Fort Bend County, Rosenberg Annex, 4520 Reading Road, Suite A, Rosenberg, TX 77471 for the following until THURSDAY, JUNE 10, 2010 at 1:30 P.M. (CST). All bids will then be publicly opened and read in the Office of the Purchasing Agent, Rosenberg Annex, 4520 Reading Road, Rosenberg, TX 77471. Bids received after the specified time will be returned unopened.

BID 10-100 – TERM CONTRACT FOR CONCRETE CURBS AND GUTTERS Unit pricing is required; payment will be by check after products/services are rendered. Bonds are not required.

Fort Bend County reserves the right to reject any or all bids.

Signed: Gilbert D. Jalomo, Jr., Purchasing Agent Fort Bend County, Richmond, Texas

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Page 6 • INDEPENDENT • JUNE 2, 2010

One of the conclusions in an online “investigative report” about Sugar Land’s deceit is based on the assumption that the police department conspired to remove the crime search from the website to hinder media access after Councilman Russell Jones complained of excessive media coverage of crime in the city. The first e-mail from Jones on this topic was sent on Feb. 9, 2010. If that is true, how does one explain the police department’s decision to abandon the traditional crime report and switch to the mapping format several months before? The following e-mails, dating back to July 2009, trace the police department’s plan to switch to the mapping system even as the communication department had conveyed its reservations about the system, thus controverting the conspiracy theory.

From Michele Allen To Doug B. Adolph 7/17/2009 12:42 PM Subject: Re: Crime Map I found some problems and made changes to the proposed new crime map. Please review it again and help double check for any errors. After this review, it will go live for the public, http:// dailycrimereport:8000/ Changes made were: 1.types of crimes listed 2.fixed problem (were) some cases were coded to wrong category 3.fixed problem with recognizing some streets Michelle Allen, Lieutenant, Sugar land Police

presented visually. No you will not have a listing by subdivision. You will have to click each dot to see the text.

Doug B. Adolph 7/17/2009 12:57 p.m.

I have never seen this before.

Did Chad help with development?

From Michell Allen To Chad M.Ostroff CC: Doug M. Adolph 8/12/2009 1:09 p.m.

Subject: crime map Attachments: Crime Map Chad, I am going to keep the link for the daily crime report active for a while and add the crime map feature to get feedback for later upgrades.

So, for the webpage update please create a link for “Crime Map” that will go to the new map and keep a link “Crime Report Listing” that goes to the current daily crime report.

If you would then change all references to the Daily Crime Report on the front page and wherever else it appears to Crime Map. I asked to have the text listing included with the crime map but was told that would take longer and would not be completed for 6-8 months at the earliest. So to compromise, I am doing both right now.

Tommy Yu has finished testing the crime map and I will have him get with you to put it together with the updated page.

Respectfully, Michele Allen.

Michelle Allen, 7/17/2009 12:58 p.m.

No, Tommy Yu Doug B. Adolph 7/17/2009 1 p.m.

Is this intended to replace the Daily Crime Report, or is it an addition?

Michelle Allen, 7/17/2009 1:04 p.m.

Replace Doug B. Adolph, 7/17/2009 1:17 p.m.

On first glance, it does not seem to offer any more info. than the last one. Is this the intention? How do you see everything occurring in a particular subdivision? Does it return data in any type of text listing, or do you have to click each dot to see the info?

I ‘ll share with others to see if they have any feedback.

Michelle Allen, 7/17/2009 1:20 p.m.

Correct, no more data just

Doug Adolph to Michele Allen 7/22/2009, 2:04 p.m.

Subject : Re: Crime Map Our comments are that 1) a text listing in addition to the visual presentation would be helpful. 2) It would also be helpful to be able to search by subdivision and/or street. 3) A written explanation of the tool and how to use it would be beneficial. 4) In the past, the tool has been helpful to search crimes over a longer period of time; this allows only one month at a time.

Just suggestions. Thanks.

E-mails on (non) reporting of crime in Sugar Land From Michelle Allen To Tomm Yu 9/22/2009, 10:25 a.m.

Hi, Tommy, just checking in the time line to get the crime map live.

Tommy Yu 9/9/2009 3:58 p.m.

Michelle, We are preparing a new web server for the crime map, and for that site being published publicly, we have to ask Comcast to do the domain stuff for us. So it will take a few more days, I will give you an internal site to check soon.

Thanks Tommy 9/10/2009 1:52 p.m.

Thanks for the update.

Michelle Allen Tommy Yu 9/17/2009 2:45 p.m.

Michelle, The new crime map locates at http://webapps.sugarlandtx. gov. It is still internal use. I think it is time to ask people at communication to update the crime report to link to this one. (Chad is on vacation, but he told me anyone in his department should be able to do it.) Please take a final check.

Thanks Tommy Michelle Allen 9/18/2009 1:09 p.m.

Are you able to set up the link?

Doug B. Adolph, 9/18/2009 1:11 p.m.

Yes. Do you want to activate it today?

Michelle Allen, 9/18/2009 1:14 p.m.

Yes, if everything is done with the Comcast end. Remember that we will keep the old daily crime report active and just add this one in. I do want the map to be the area highlighted however so we can transition everyone into using it. Eventually we will deactivate the daily crime report.

Doug Adolph 9/18/2009 2:11 p.m.

It has been updated. Let me know if changes are needed.

“Media people lazy” remark: Full text of the e-mail From Russell Jones To Allen Bogard 2/13/2010 12:08 PM Allen, For starters, I would like for you to informally poll members of the council to determine whether they agree with my underlying premise.

(Made in the Feb. 9 e-mail.

See accompanying article in column 4) Mrs. Chaumette has already expressed her agreement. If there is sufficient agreement, I would like to re-look at the issue and give everyone an opportunity to make some proposals. I do not concur that there is simply nothing which can be done.

I have no problem with making all of the information public. Moreover, I do not have any problem with making information available on the Internet.

However, it is my observation that media people are basically lazy when they have the opportunity to be, and they are more likely to use material which you put into their hands than material which they must go look for.

For example, it may be of some value to consider whether there should be two or more different distribution lists of press releases. One might be an all encompassing list, including everyone from the New York Times (or AP or whoever) to FortBendNow. The other might be a limited list for local media only.

This might be useful for reduction of minor notices to regional media. For example, I do not believe that there is any purpose in sending our “educational” press releases to the Houston radio and television stations.

Those recipients will only use such information to show that there is concern in our community about crime, and it will not be used to show that there is not much crime because that is apparently not newsworthy.

Educational pieces for consumption by the local media makes sense because they are primarily directed to our citizens.

Similarly, I have no problem about releasing information to the Houston media about running down a bank robber on the Southwest freeway or capturing the bozos who seem to be robbing sunglasses stores around the whole Houston area if that were to happen because those are undoubtedly regionally newsworthy.

However, I cannot see any reason why we need to point out to channel 13 that we managed to run down three car burglars who primarily operated in our local area and whose only claims to fame are that one of them admits that he did something stupid and another of them is in a wheelchair.

(By the way, they were caught shortly after they

broke into my daughter’s car in my office parking lot and managed to steal a computer bag whose only contents was my daughter’s business card.

I think she had her feelings hurt because they did not think that she had anything else worth stealing.)

That information is of interest to the east Fort Bend media and our citizens, but it serves no purpose in the hands of a Houston television station other than add to its stack of crime reports in Sugar Land.

By having multiple separate distribution lists, some control can be exercised over who will actually use the information.

I would welcome ideas from other council members if they think that there is an issue needing addressing.

Russell C. Jones Russell-You raise some good points. I have asked staff to re-visit our current process and then report back to City Council.

Allen [This email shows that Jones does not want to hide the information from local media like Fort Bend Now, but is concerned about Houston TV stations. His idea of having multiple distribution lists has found no support from the communication department or the police department.— Editor]

A Sugar Land resident sent an e-mail to Councilman Russell Jones on May 17, 2010.

To: rjones@sugarlandtx.gov Subject: Sugar Land Crime I would like to make my opinion known about the crime reports issue in Sugar Land. As a resident of Sugar Land, I want an easily accessible and complete source of information about Sugar Land crime. I do not want you or anyone else deciding what is too trivial to report. I am sure that many of your constituents feel the same way.

Jones sent the following email to the resident on May 18.

Thank you for your e-mail of May 17, 2010.

Let me begin by saying that I agree with you 100% that all information relating to crime in Sugar Land should be available to all residents of the city.

However, recently a series of stories has appeared on a local website that has made an effort to suggest that the city is “misleading” its residents on the issue of crime.

The report is the result of a combination of an e-mail inquiry, which I made some time ago and a staff effort to update, expand and revise the city’s website and policies relating to the reporting of crime.

Unfortunately, the story, which appeared in the local website reaches the erroneous conclusion that the city is attempting to mislead or hide information from the public.

That conclusion is simply irresponsible and false.

Following is a complete transcript of the e-mail, which I sent to the city manager on February 9, 2010 which apparently started the current miscommunication by the media: At some point, I would like to get some information on our policy on issuing press releases regarding criminal activity.

All the statistics say that our crime rate is low. Yet we get more coverage on Houston TV stations on our criminal activities than any other area city than Houston itself. I suspect, but do not know, that this results, at least in part, on the fact that we seem to issue press releases, it seems sometimes, on every car burglary and purse snatching that occurs. Then another release follows on every drunk who is arrested or purse snatcher who is caught. Obviously that is an exaggeration, but the point is that we seem to publicize every bad thing that happens, and then the Chronicle and Channel 13 pick up on it.

The regional reporting is then out of proportion to what is going on throughout the area.

I am willing to be found wrong on this, but I would like some further review.

As you can see, the subject of the e-mail is my concern that the city’s press releases were feeding into the apparent habit of Houston television stations to over report on crime in Sugar Land.

Neither then nor at anytime since then have I or anyone else involved with the city suggested cutting off access to crime statistics which are available on the city’s website.

More or less at the same time as my e-mail, the city staff was in the process of reviewing the formatting of crime reporting statistics on the city’s website.

Part of the reason for the review had to do with the fact that the city had recently annexed River Park, that the old system was not adequately reporting on the area and that it apparently could not be expanded to include the area.

As it turns out, certain members of the media believe that the new format is harder

to access then the old format.

However, I am advised that some residents believe that the new format is superior.

The local reporter did an open records request for all of the communications which was sufficiently broad to obtain records which included my concern about the Houston media’s over reporting and the staff effort to reformat the website.

She then took numerous communications out of context and concluded that the city was attempting to mislead residents.

Notwithstanding the reporter’s conclusion, she has yet to identify a single case of misleading information which has been provided to her or to any resident.

As a government we have the responsibility to be completely open, providing open access to all records.

In the City of Sugar Land, we not only embrace this responsibility, but we further take responsibility for providing information to our residents that accomplishes several issues: Information that can help enhance the safety and security of our residents, such as area crime incident; suspect descriptions; and crime prevention tips...

Occasionally, a media source does not act responsibly in their desire to build readership through defining sensational events.

And occasionally, a reporter “weaves” a story which is simply not true; creating public misperception by unbalanced or inaccurate reporting.

In the 5/12/10 story titled “Investigative Report: Sugar Land Crime Search removed to hinder media access”, the reporter claims that the City of Sugar Land hides crime from the media and citizens.

In fact, the City of Sugar Land did have public conversation during a live televised City Council presentation on March 16.

During that open meeting, as part of his annual report, Police Chief Brinkley laid out a plan to improve reporting of crime information for our residents.

Part of that discussion did detail a concern over the reporting of trivial information by local media. This reporting has led to an increased misperception of crime in our city versus other areas .

Brinkley correctly identified part of the problem as a dated software program which created a listing of all calls that Police Officers and Firefighters respond to during the course of a work day.

Examples might include parking violations, speeding complaints, traffic accidents and/or crime reports. That information was available on line.

The course of conversation that the City of Sugar Land engaged in covered two fronts.

First, was a problem with local media reporting numerous “minor” events which gave the inaccurate public appearance that crime related activity was much worse in Sugar Land than surrounding areas. Second, it was important to get our residents meaningful information in an easy to obtain format.

We did not remove the ability for our residents to find out and learn about crime calls.

We changed, only, the format to access that information...

Our residents expect to be kept fully informed and they expect to receive a higher level of service. We believe that we have met those criteria in the changes we have made to the manner in which our citizens access crime information.

The story was irresponsible and inaccurate in many respects. The article states that there were 3,300 e-mails between city officials.

This leads one to the assumption that there were 3,300 e-mails on this subject.

City Staff did produce that number of e-mails for the open records request… but the request was so broadly defined that the resulting documents included any email that had anything to do with the reporting of crime…. many unrelated to the topic of this story.

The article indicates that City Staff began working with “Police Chief Doug Brinkley on how to make crime information less accessible to the media.”

In fact, City Staff and Chief Brinkley worked on designing a strategy for more effectively communicating with our citizens.

The end result of that work product was a presentation that was made to City Council on May 16 as part of Chief Brinkley’s Annual Report.

In truth, the City of Sugar Land never stopped offering a crime report.

We simply replaced the old “blotter” with a new version which allowed citizens to visually see the location of crimes on a map as many other major cities have done, such as Los Angeles and Houston.

As mentioned earlier, the old system included calls for service that were not “crimes”.

The article states that; “the new system effectively shutdown the ability of the local media to efficiently report local crime in a timely manner”.

The truth is that several media outlets use the new system to find and report on Part One Crime.

The article takes a series of e-mails related to how to communicate the change; and draws the following inference; “Apparently, however, residents, the media and even Sugar Land police officers noticed the change and were not satisfied with the new “tool.”

In truth, the old “blotter” report had several inherent problems. The software that was written for the city to collect the information from our Computer Aided Dispatch data files was outdated. We did not have a business relationship with the vendor who initially wrote the software.

City staff had recognized the need to make changes in the information reported. Instead of repairing the existing system, Police Department staff wanted to develop a new tool, based on a model used by the City of Los Angeles.

The new tool was seen as, not only a better tool for residents to use, but it would be more accurate.

The work on designing the new tool has started several months before the actual change over that the reporter references.

The article states; “I was instructed to hide the link to the search on the web this afternoon”. That statement by itself is correct. But in context, “hiding the link” is a web design phrase which simply means taking the link down to the old software so that the new Daily Crime Report would be utilized. As with the previous system, the information is updated daily and is assessable to all.

Our communications staff has developed a reputation of responsiveness in their work with their media partners. It’s unfortunate that occasionally, an irresponsible reporter brings the good intentions of City Government into question....

Finally, I would like to point out an article which I published in the March 17, 2010 issue of the Fort Bend Independent newspaper in which I discussed the very issue which I raised in my earlier e-mail to the city manager and called public attention to the issue.

That article was titled “Keeping a perspective on Crime.”

JUNE 2, 2010 • INDEPENDENT • Page 7

Page 8 • INDEPENDENT • JUNE 2, 2010

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